Jackson Jr. Memorabilia Auction Canceled Over Guitar

Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- A government auction of former U.S.
Representative Jesse Jackson Jr.’s forfeited memorabilia was
canceled over questions about whether pop icon Michael Jackson
and rock musician Eddie Van Halen had actually signed a guitar
put up for bid.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the Marshals Service will
conduct a secondary review of all the assets,” the agency said
today in a statement. “Once the review is complete, a decision
will be made whether to repost any assets for sale by auction.”

Jackson, a former Illinois Democratic lawmaker and the son
of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, was sentenced in August to
2 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to taking $750,000
from his campaign accounts for personal use. Net proceeds from
the memorabilia auction were to be used to help defray a
$750,000 judgment imposed by the court as part of Jackson’s
sentence.

His wife, Sandra Jackson, was sentenced to a year in prison
on tax charges connected to the offense.

The cancellation followed questions raised by “concerned
individuals” who provided information questioning the
authenticity of the autographs, Lynzey Donahue, a spokeswoman
for the Marshals Service, said in a statement.

Bidding on 13 items in Jackson’s collection had reached
$14,136 when the auction was stopped at 10:30 a.m. New York
time, according to Donahue.

The online auction began September 17 and was slated to
continue through Sept. 26, according to Jason Rzepniewski, an
auctioneer for Gaston & Sheehan Auctioneers Inc., of
Pflugerville, Texas, which was conducting the sale.

Pieces from Jackson’s collection up for bid include items
owned by martial arts actor Bruce Lee as well as clothing such
as women’s cashmere capes and a hooded mink parka.

The case is U.S. v. Jackson, 13-cr-00058, U.S. District
Court, District of Columbia (Washington).